Hatch cover of the side-rolling type

ABSTRACT

In order to minimize the obstacles on the deck surrounding a hatch opening adapted to be covered by sidewards rolling cover sections, fixed wheels are arranged on the coaming and on pillars outside the coaming, respectively, and located in lines forming extensions of two parallel sides of the coaming. Each section is at two sides being parallel to the moving direction, provided with a downwardly directed side portion extending along, but at some distance from the pertaining side of the coaming, mechanically operated sealing members being arranged to bridge the gap between such a downwardly directed portion and the adjacent side of the coaming.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Reinhardt OlaiAarvold Stenkullen; Erik Holger Isaksson, Gotebord, both of, Sweden Appl No. 857,312 [22] Filed Sept. 12, 1969 llivlsiun of Sci. Nu. 7123M), Mar. 1), 1968, Abandoned Aug. 51,197l

Associated Cargo Gear All,

145] l'nlenlrtl [7]] Assigncc Goteborg H',, Sweden [32] Priority Apr. 7, 1967 [33] Sweden [3 l 4886/67 [54] HATCH COVER OF THE SIDE-ROLLING TYPE 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

Primary lixaminerAndrew H. Farrell Allumey-Pierce, Scheffler and Parker ABSTRACT: In order to minimize the obstacles on the deck surrounding a hatch opening adapted to be covered by sidewards rolling cover sections, fixed wheels are arranged on the coaming and on pillars outside the coaming, respectively, and located in lines forming extensions of two parallel sides of the coaming. Each section is at two sides being parallel to the moving direction, provided with a downwardly directed side portion extending along, but at some distance from the pertaining side of the coaming, mechanically operated sealing members being arranged to bridge the gap between such 11 downwardly directed portion and the adjacent side of the coaming.

minimums: |97| 3.602.183

' SHEU 1 [IF 2 FIG. 1

IIIIIlIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlIIl/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/IIIIIIIIII 'IIIIII'IIIIIIIII'IIIII 'III/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/I/fl INVENTORS Reinhard-l; OLoL Aa vold By Eric Holgerfsaksso PATENTED M18 1 I 3.602.183

' 111m 2 OF 2 32 FIG.3

2a a- H a 15 1 19 S 11 w FIGJ. 2

III II/I/III/l H III/l/I/IIIII/II/Il NV TORS Reinhardt Diai arvoLd By Eric Holger Isaksson these extra strains'arid may be designed solely'for the sealing purpose V parstusof known design, not shown here. I I Two sides of the coaming, herecalled the transverse sides,

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V r This application contains subject matter disclosed in applicantspriorapplication'Ser. No. 712,989 filed Mar. 14, 1968 7 (now abandoned) and constitutes a division of said 'application.

Many hatch covers consist of sections which may be moved 7 in a horizontal plane towards and away from each other and thus be made cover and to open, respectively, an opening in masses of a ship or the roof offa'building. Hatch covers of I this type are usually called side-rolling covers, and the sections 1 are in position supported by means arranged outside the coaming surrounding the opening. These means may be fixed .to the cover sections orthey may fonn elongations of two sides of the hatch coaming, Means of the first-mentioned type are liable to bedarnaged duringthe opening and closing move- ,ments and means of the last-mentioned type will form a limitation to the possibilities or transport on the deck transversely to the opening direction whenthe cover is closed. Side-rolling I hatch covers of this type have been provided with wheels or rollers which have been adaptedtorun on guideways on the coaming. Usually twoicooperating sections are utilized but on 'occasion a single section may be utilized and sometimesalso' more than two sections may come'into the picture.

' SUMMARYOF THEINVENTION The present invention refers to a hatch-cover where each sectionin open position is carried by supports outside the coming and it is characterized in the wheels adapted to facilitate the movement of the cover-being mounted on. the

co aming and'on supports outside the coaming consisting of pillars beingarrang'ed in lines forming extension'of two parallelside'siof the coming and so located in relation to the length of the cover section to be moved that the point of gravity of said -cover during movement will always'be located between two pillarsin each line.

With covers carried by wheelsit is necessary to provide means, whichmake possible a loweringofthe section, when ,the' same is to be-closed in order to obtaintheldesired sealing 'against'the coaming. In hitherto-known designs itshas there- 7 fore been-necessary to lower and to lift respectively the'total weight of the cover to obtain and to breakthe contact with the packing. During the voyage of a ship the weight of the coming rests on the packing and to'this weight the force of the" seas washing over the deck .will be added. According to a further development of {the invention the packin'gs are'relieved of BRIEF osscmmon or T na DRAWINGS point of gravity of a sectionwill always be located between two pillars in each line. lnthis manner it is possible to prevent the outermost edge of the secti'onto tilt downwards before it reaches the next pair of pillars. The cover section is thus always carried in the horizontal plane and no lifting thereof will be called for. i

The pillars make possible transportation along the coaming when the cover is closed and preferably the distance between the outermost pillars ineach line is such that it will be possible to utilize a fork lifi truck or similar vehicle. The normal distancebetween the pillars is choosen to provide adequate support for the section but in order to guarantee that theme will not tilt downwards during the movement to the outermost pillars where the distance'may-have to be close to the practical limit, it may be appropriate as shown in FIG. 6 to provide thepillars located close to the hatch opening with means for instance-further rollers 45, cooperating with the top side of the section to keep the {innermost part of the cover section downwardsfl The cross section of FIG. 2 shows that the coaming is provided with an upper flange 7. The cover section 2v has such a breadth-that it reaches outside this flange and is provided with a downwardly directed portion 8. This carries an upperflang'e 9sand a pair of lower flanges 10 and II, respectively. The

. upper. flange 9 at the cover section as well a's'flange 7 on the cooperate with a packing 1 4 which is carried by a channel bar means are withdrawnby means of springs 18. The lowerpart of the side portion 8 is provided with a. governing edge 19 i which cooperates with the rollers 4 and 6, respectively. The longitudinal sides of the sections .are designed principally in FIG. I shows schematicallya view ofone embodiment of d thememberi; v g

FIG. 2 shows a cross section of a detailalong-line Illl in FIG. 1 and on a somewhat enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 shows a section corresponding to that in FIG. 2 at a FIG. 6 shows a detail at one of the pillars contained in FIG.

tion of the sections may be brought about by a suitable 'ap-= are provided with-a number ofrolle'rfs Awhich carry the sections and facilitate the movementthereotZA number of pillars f I 5 are arranged in forming'elongations of the transverse v lSrunning along the side of-the coaming. This channel bar is connected to a numberfofhydraulic rams 16 carried by the lower flange l0 and which'by means of a conduit vl7 are connected" to a common source of fluid under'pressure. When the cover is closed the packing may be brought into contact with the m ledges Hand '13; respectively, in such a mannerthat a satisfactory scaling is obtained. Conduit 17 may be provided withvalverneans to maintain the pressure at the rams during the time. it is'desired to keep the sealing forced against the ledges. When the pressure atthe rams is relieved the sealing the same mannera's indicated in FIG. 2, Le. in closed position the side of the section will reach below flange 7 in the coaming and-the channel bar 15' may be applied in a corresponding manner.

1 In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 parts corresponding to those in FIG 1 are denoted by the same nuv metals. The coaming 1 is thus provided with a flange 7 which has a downwardly directed flange 13. Section 2 is provided with'a downwardly directed side portion 8 and this is provided with a first flange 9 cooperating with the flange 7 atthe coam- 'ing as well as with lower flange 11. The section is alsoprovided with a guiding edge 19 for cooperation with the rollers 4 and '6, respectively. Also in this embodiment a channel bar 15 carrying a'packing 14 for cooperation with ledges l2 and 13 in flanges 9 and 7, respectively, is provided. In this case, however, the rams 29 which are provided with pressure fluid by means of a conduit 27 are arranged above the packing and are adapted to pull the latter against the ledges at the flanges.

.Sprlng 2 will force the packing away from the ledges when r the rams are relieved of pressure.

The rams are mounted on flange 29 in the cover section 8 and a yoke 30 enclosing the ram is connected to a bar. 31

running along the channel bar carrying the packing. The ram i will pull the yoke upwards and the spring 28 is arranged between the yoke and a support 32 atthe cover section. The

packing means are governed in relation to. the section by a number-of pegs 33 which run in openings in the lower flange 1l'at the section. In both embodimentsthe packing is normally free from the flanges in such a manner that a displacement of the sections may be brought about. The rams must then always be supplied with pressure fluid. It is of course possible to operate in the reverse manner i.e. to have strong springs adapted to pull or to push the packing against the flanges. This may easily be done as in these designs the packing never will have to carry the weight of the cover. The rams will then be utilized only on those occasions when it is desirable to move the sections.

Such an embodiment is shown in FIG. 5. Section 2 is also here provided with a downwardly extending portion 8 carrying a flange 9. The coaming is provided with an outwardly directed flange 7 in which the rollers 4 are mounted. The governing edge 19 of the cover section as well as flange 9 will thus be located above flange 7.

The sealing arrangement here includes two packings 35 and 36, respectively, of which the first-mentioned is attached to the section at the joint between the downwardly directed portion and the flange 9. The other packing 36 is located on the movable sealing member 15. This is designed as an inverted U- beam the shanks of which have different length. The shorter shank 37 serves as an abutment against packing 35 whereas the other longer shank 38 is designed as a mounting for packing 36. Flange 7 is connected to the main part of the coaming somewhat below the upper edge thereof in such a manner that a ledge 39 for cooperation with packing 36 is obtained. The channel forming the packing mounting on shank 38 is provided with a number of downwardly directed pegs 40 which in closed position cooperate with correspondingly shaped openings in flange 7 in such a manner that the sealing member cannot unintentionally be pushed sidewards. The sealing member is by means of a number of strong springs 18 to be brought to cooperate with the sealing ledges at the section and at the coaming, respectively, and may be lifted therefrom by means of pressure fluid operated rams 16.

We claim:

1. In a hatch cover a coaming surrounding an opening and at least one cover section movable in the horizontal plane in relation to said coaming to open and to close said opening, respectively,

an outwardly directed flange at each of the two sides of the coaming parallel to the direction of movement of the cover section,

a downwardly directed portion at each pertaining side of the cover section running parallel to the adjacent flange of the coaming to form an elongated gap between said flange and said downwardly directed portion,

a sealing member running along said gap, and

mechanical means including compression springs forcing said sealing member towards edge portions of said flange, at opposite sides of said gap,

as well as fluid-operated rams for temporarily breaking the sealing contact during operation of the covers.

2. A hatch cover according to claim 1 in which the flange at the coaming as well as the downwardly directed portion of the cover, section is each provided with a downwardly directed portion of the cover section is each provided with a downwardly directed ledge serving as abutment for a singlepacking element in the seating member.

3. A hatch cover according to claim 1 as utilized with covers where the lower edge of the downwardly directed portion is designed as a governing rail cooperating with wheels carried by the coaming, and in which an inwardly directed flange at the cover section is arranged on a higher level than the flange in the juxtaposed side of the coaming, the improvement of the sealing member comprising two separate strips of packing material, one of the packing strips, preferably the outermost one, being fixed to the flange at the cover, whereas the other strip, preferably the innermost one, is fixed to the sealing member.

m g? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent 2.602.182 Dated Augllst 31. 1971 Invencor(s)Reinha.rd Olai Aarvold and Erik Holger Isaksson It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In Claim 2, lines t and 5, the words "portion of the cover section is each provided with a downwardly direct ed are repeated twice and should be deleted.

Signed and sealed this 27th day of June 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. In a hatch cover a coaming surrounding an opening and at least one cover section movable in the horizontal plane in relation to said coaming to open and to close said opening, respectively, an outwardly directed flange at each of the two sides of the coaming parallel to the direction of movement of the cover section, a downwardly directed portion at each pertaining side of the cover section running parallel to the adjacent flange of the coaming to form an elongated gap between said flange and said downwardly directed portion, a sealing member running along said gap, and mechanical means including compression springs forcing said sealing member towards edge portions of said flange, at opposite sides of said gap, as well as fluid-opeRated rams for temporarily breaking the sealing contact during operation of the covers.
 2. A hatch cover according to claim 1 in which the flange at the coaming as well as the downwardly directed portion of the cover section is each provided with a downwardly directed portion of the cover section is each provided with a downwardly directed ledge serving as abutment for a single-packing element in the seating member.
 3. A hatch cover according to claim 1 as utilized with covers where the lower edge of the downwardly directed portion is designed as a governing rail cooperating with wheels carried by the coaming, and in which an inwardly directed flange at the cover section is arranged on a higher level than the flange in the juxtaposed side of the coaming, the improvement of the sealing member comprising two separate strips of packing material, one of the packing strips, preferably the outermost one, being fixed to the flange at the cover, whereas the other strip, preferably the innermost one, is fixed to the sealing member. 